Introduction to P R I N T M A K I N G

PRINTMAKINGPRINTING PLATE the surface on which

the picture or design is made this is also

called your MATRIX.

A plate can be anything from copper to a plastic cutting board.

PRINTMAKINGprocess

To produce a print, a piece of paper is

pressed against an inked plate. This

process can be repeated many times,

making many prints from one image.

PRINTMAKING PRESS

Laura Álvarez

The Double Agent Sirvienta: Blow Up the Hard

Drive,1999, serigraph (#45 of 56)Ester Hernández

Libertad (Liberty), 1987

Etching (#36 of 50)

PRINTMAKING TechniquesRelief

SilkscreenLithography

Intaglio

MonoprintCollagraph

PRINTMAKING TechniquesIntaglio

Intaglio prints

are made by

cutting or

drawing lines

into a metal

plate. The lines

you draw are

printed.

PRINTMAKING TechniquesIntaglio PRINT

1. Cut into a

metal plate with

tools or acid. It’s

called a DRY

POINT when no

acid is used.

2. Roll ink onto

the plate

3. Finally, run

the plate and a

piece of paper

through a press.

An etching is a kind of print made by:

The photo on the left shows a close-up of a metal plate.

The photo on the right is a print made by rolling white ink

on the plate, cleaning the ink off the top surface,

placing a piece of black paper over the plate and

running it through a press. The press pulls the ink from the

plate onto the paper and makes a reversed image.

“Custom Service” is an

etching by Tony Ortega.

He cut lines into a metal

plate, used ink and a

press to print black lines

on top of a U.S. Customs

form.

After the black lines were

printed, he hand

colored the print with

watercolors.Tony Ortega

Custom Service

etching, watercolor

PRINTMAKING TechniquesRelief (wood or linoleum)

Made by

carving into the

surface of a

plate. Ink clings

to the un-

carved surface

of the plate.

Linoleum Relief PrintPRINTMAKING Techniques

ReliefPRINTMAKING Techniques

PLATE PRINTWHAT DO YOU NOTICE?

ReliefPRINTMAKING Techniques

PLATE PRINTPrints print in reverse!

A woodcut print is made by:

1) carving into

the surface of a

block of wood

2) rolling ink on

the surface

3) laying a

piece of paper

over the block

4) applying

pressure to

make the print.

Woodblock Relief PrintPRINTMAKING Techniques

Woodblock Relief PrintPRINTMAKING Techniques

An artist makes a lithograph by drawing with an oily crayon on a piece of

limestone (or other appropriate surface). The stone surface is covered with

a liquid so only the crayon marks are exposed.

Then oil-based ink is

rolled on the surface

sticking only to the

drawing.

A piece of paper is

laid over the stone,

which is run through

a press to make

the print.

LithographyPRINTMAKING Techniques

A silkscreen print is made by blocking out sections of a piece of mesh fabric

(such as silk or other synthetic fabrics) stretched in a frame. The printmaker

uses a squeegee to force thick ink through the unblocked areas of fabric

onto a piece of paper placed under the screen.

(A serigraph print is not reversed.)

PRINTMAKING TechniquesSILKSCREEN

PRINTMAKING TechniquesSILKSCREEN Prints are

essentially

stenciling.

Images are

placed on a

screen and ink is

pulled through

with a

squeegee.

Artist Laura Álvarez made

this print using a serigraph

printing technique.

How many colors can you

identify?

Each color was made with

a separate screen.

Laura Álvarez

The Double Agent Sirvienta: Blow Up the Hard Drive

serigraph, 1999

PRINTMAKING TechniquesSILKSCREEN

PRINTMAKING TechniquesCOLLAGRAPH

A Collagraph print is a collage printmaking technique and is a form of Intaglio printing.

The collagraph plate is printed in the same way as etchings, but also include the basic

principle of relief printing and can be printed either as intaglio or relief.

The term collagraph refer to a collage board where the materials are

assembled on a flat base or plate (matrix) to form a relief block with different surface

levels and textures.

Collagraph plates are created by sticking and gluing materials like textured paper or

fabric onto the plate and then coat it with varnish or acrylic medium afterwards to

protect the materials.

The plate can be made from wood plates or cardboard plates that you build up using

different materials.

PRINTMAKING TechniquesCOLLAGRAPH

PRINTMAKING TechniquesMonoprint

A monoprint is a one off impression made by applying

printing ink to a flat surface and then transferring the

image to paper or a similar printing surface.

The printing surface can be anything which is flat,

smooth and non-absorbent (glass, gelatin, plastic,

metal, acetate), but should not be too thick as the print

need to fit through the printing press.

PRINTMAKING TechniquesMonoprint

Monoprint

Why do you suppose

some artists choose

printmaking, rather

than drawing or

painting, when they

want to

communicate their

feelings or ideas to

lots of people?

What is ART to YOU?

Why do YOU want to create ART?

What do you want to SAY with your

ART?

What do you want others to FEEL when

they view your art?